The Chase
by DeviousPorkchop
Summary: A trade ban in China has caused escalating tensions with certain foreign groups outside of the country. War is almost certain. To make matters worse, a thief has stolen a very powerful artifact, and is now transporting it into enemy hands. This artifact could bring about the downfall of all of China. The race is on to find this thief before he can make it to his destination.


**AN:**** Sup? Name's Porkchop! I'm no stranger to FF, and in fact have many stories on another account (which I won't name due to security purposes). However, this is my first entry into KFP, which is odd, because this is one of my favorite movies ever. Any who, let's get moving…**

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**(Emperor's Palace, 2:30 am…)**

Thunder boomed, lightning flashed, and rain came down in unrelenting torrents. Add in strong wind gusts, and you had the current weather at the Palace of the Divine. With this weather, and at this hour, men were slacking in their duties. With no current threat to the emperor's safety, there was no need to be on full alert. Most huddled around lamps for warmth under whatever cover they could find, while others tried to catch as much sleep as they could without getting caught.

So far, so good. No sort of alarm had been raised. All was quiet…

Suddenly, loud bells began ringing throughout the complex, causing the assortment of rhinos and goats to scramble madly to their battle stations. The news began to spread like wildfire: Thief! Thief in the palace!

Commanding officers shouted frantic orders while their underlings began to desperately rake the shadows for the intruder, their efforts intensified by the fact that it would be their heads if he or she wasn't caught.

Almost instantly after all of this had occurred, large explosions lit up the night all over the palace grounds. The thief had placed several barrels of black powder as distractions. It was quite effective. Men standing too close were sent flying, while the resulting fires only added more panic to the confusion.

Throughout this ordeal, no one caught sight of the shadow that darted through a hole in the exterior wall that had been created by one of the blasts…

**(Jade Palace, 6:45 am…)**

The recent ban on maritime trade in and out of the country was probably not the emperor's greatest idea. For starters, it meant that several able sailors were out of a job, but it also wrought about repercussions on a more global scale. While the Silk Roads were still running smoothly, the sea routes around the southern tip of Africa were still very profitable, especially to westerners. When those links to Chinese luxury goods were cut off, people got angry. And when people got angry, they became radical. In this instance, a fleet of powerful merchants had gathered off the southern coast, trying to force China to reopen its ports. If things kept going the way they were, there would no doubt be a small scale war on their hands.

It was for this reason that Shifu couldn't seem to focus on his morning meditation. No doubt that his students would be called to action in such an event. While these merchants were not many, they easily had technological advantage far surpassing Shen's. They could be a very destructive force, and Shifu had a feeling that kung fu just wouldn't be enough this time.

Finally, after an eternity, he seemed to be able to get a grip on his mind. However, this momentary peace was shattered by the sounds of frantic flapping that resonated off the walls of the cave.

His ear twitched, and he sighed tiredly in a way that truly showed his age. It was Zheng.

"Master Shifu, I've got a message." Zheng panted quietly.

"Can't it wait until later?" Shifu grumbled, maintaining his composure despite the interruption.

"It's from the emperor himself."

"…What?"

Shifu was surprised indeed. The emperor himself rarely sent them messages. They were usually little notes of gratitude for keeping the peace, or matters of great importance. As far as he remembered, they had already received their thank you for defeating Shen, so this had to be the latter. Shifu hurriedly yanked the rolled up paper from the goose and read. Zheng watched as his expression turned from one of surprise, to shock, and then to fear.

"What does it-?" Zheng began to ask, but he found that he was already speaking to thin air. He turned and watched Shifu take off down the trail to the palace. "…Say?"

Shifu's mind was racing at the moment. It seemed that his darkest fears were coming true. He flew through the doors of the barracks, caught his breath, regained his composure, and then began walking through the corridor, smacking the doors with his staff.

"Up! Everybody up!" he called firmly. Several groans sounded from behind the paper walls. It was at least half an hour before the usual gong rang. He stopped at the end and turned. Five of his students had slid open their doors and now stood at attention in front of them, their sleep-deprived faces showing well-practiced discipline.

Five of them had awoken, but the sixth…

Tigress rolled her eyes and face palmed as Shifu floated silently into Po's room. He disappeared for a few seconds…

_***THWACK!***_

"OW! NO! I SWEAR IT WASN'T ME! MONKEY'S COOKIES REALLY _HAVE _BEEN BEING STOLEN BY NINJAS!"

_***THWACK!***_

"WAS THAT MY _SPLEEN?!_"

_***THWACK!***_

"Yep! YEP! DEFINITELY MY SPLEEN!"

_***THWACK!***_

"GAGH! I'M UP! FOR THE LOVE OF BEAN BUNS I AM _UP!_" Po yelped finally before stumbling out of his room. Of course, he managed to trip on a floorboard while fleeing from the psychotic master with the "Stick of Infinite Pain". He came down with an earth shaking thud, and Shifu calming strolled past, his work completed.

Shifu walked back to the end of the hall, turning once again to face his students, one of which was still picking himself up. Now that he felt that everyone was listening, he spoke.

"I am very aware that it is early. But, I have roused you all for good reason. We have a mission, this time from the emperor himself."

His students' faces lit up with a sort of shock.

"The… emperor, master?" Tigress asked. Shifu nodded in affirmation.

"Uh, master, no offence, but what if this is another prank? Remember that time when-?" Mantis had spoken up, but was silenced by a hiss from Viper. With that settled, Shifu continued.

"I want everyone ready to leave in one hour." Shifu ordered. Then, without another word, he turned and left the barracks. The Five and Po turned back into their respective rooms to pack.

"Aw man! We just got back from the Great Wall! Can't the bad guys take a vacation too or something?" Po whined as he scooped up some belongings and dumped them in his pack.

"…Welcome to the life of a kung fu master…" Tigress' voice floated from across the hall.

"Whelp! For once, Po doesn't think this is _totally awesome_! This could be a bad omen!" Mantis chided from down the hall. Once again, a hiss from Viper hushed him…

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**AN: Short, yes, but I feel that this is a good place to cut it off. R&R if you'd please. I may need some pointers on how to keep everyone "in character", as it were.**


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